


as depthless as the sea

by nickofhearts



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Awfulness, Horror, M/M, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-11-03 11:57:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10966746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nickofhearts/pseuds/nickofhearts
Summary: Noctis thinks he's in love.





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

  * For [banditess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/banditess/gifts).



Ardyn says, "Were you thinking of _me_ , Noctis?" and catches him up in a kiss.

 _Yes,_ Noct doesn't need to answer. He feels like a buoy being pulled under the waves, too far and too deep to ever surface again, but there's nothing he can do to stop it.

He doesn't want to.

-

He lets Ardyn push him up against the side of the caravan, press biting kisses to his bare throat, and he wonders how he ever lived without this before. He _wants_ so much that it's frightening, one more thing in his life that's spinning wildly out of control.

-

Noct doesn't know why he _needs_ it from Ardyn so badly.

It's all he can think about—Ardyn's big hands and the wide shape of his mouth, how it would feel to have that broad chest pressed against him. He wants to feel the slow slide of Ardyn's cock into him, Ardyn's hands on his hips holding him down. 

-

Ardyn chuckles. "Noct? Noct, you still with me?"

Noct whines, spreading his legs wider. He's panting mindlessly into the bedsheets, thoughts empty of everything except how _good_ Ardyn's cock feels inside him, nothing better.

Noct moans, wanting more.

-

"Do you think things are moving too quickly with Ardyn?" Ignis asks on the drive to the Disc of Cauthess.

They are, but Noct can't find it in himself to care. He's in freefall, and nothing has ever felt better.

-

Ardyn doesn’t stick around after picking them up from the shitshow that trying to communicate with the Archean was, but he does thoroughly fuck Noct into the mattress on board his _private_ airship, and also leave Noct his number.

"Call me if you're ever in trouble," Ardyn says, flashing white teeth. "Or if you miss my— _voice._ "

Noct shrugs, nonchalant. 

They both know Noct’s going to call him that night, three fingers buried in his ass while he moans Ardyn’s name into the phone.

-

It is and it isn't a surprise when Ardyn kills Luna.

Noct always knew there was going to be a price to pay for how good things had been going with someone that was on the top-ten list of enemies of the state; he'd just thought he could put it off for at least until he actually _got_ to Gralea.

Ardyn murmurs into his ear, knife still wet with Luna's blood. "You don't need her, Noctis. You need only _me,_ remember?" Ardyn kissing him now feels no different than ten minutes before, and Noct melts into it, because it's true. Luna has never made him feel like Ardyn does, like nothing else in the world matters. Even Luna's crumpled form on the ground seems to him a thought far away, in the face of being held in Ardyn's arms.

"It's a pity then," Ardyn whispers in his ear—"that I have no use for _you_."

Hot pain blossoms against Noct's ribs, and it takes Noct too long to realize that it's Ardyn's knife in _his_ gut, blood all over his hands as Noct stumbles back in shock.

-

He wakes up.

Noct gasps in heaving breaths and clutches at his stomach where Ardyn's knife had pierced him, less cruel than Ardyn's words.

He gets to his feet and pushes to the back of the train, ignoring Prompto's question of whether he's _alright._

"Leave me _alone_ ," Noct hisses. He still _wants._

-

"Which is it, Noctis?" Ardyn asks him. "Do you wish to _kill_ me, or kiss me?"

Noct can't say.

-

He stumbles through the winding twisting halls of Zegnautus Keep, Ardyn's voice in his ears whispering, whispering. Noct can't make sense of it until he reaches the last room.

"Anything look _familiar,_ Noctis?"

"MT's aren't actually _empty_ …unless you are as well, Noctis?"

"Are they really your friends? They've known…so many Nocts, and they've never been able to tell the difference."

"Why _did_ you choose Prompto of all people to become friends with, Noct? Did you feel a sense of… _kinship?_ "

"So you're the one that finally made it…"

"You're finally _home_."

Noct looks down the rows and rows of tubes holding bodies floating in them, bodies with _his_ face, and _he throws up._


	2. one

You feel it like a strange frisson of tension in your spine the first time you meet Ardyn in Galdin Quay.

You can’t take your eyes off him, watching his every step, and then it’s like the impression of him has been burned into your eyelids, a shadow even when he’s gone. You don’t know anything about him, but you can’t get him out of your mind.

-

You’re annoyed when he brushes you off at Lestallum, following behind his car with a lingering sense of unease. You want to be right next to him, pressed up against him, folded into his arms.

It feels inevitable then, to kiss him up against the caravan at the rest stop, his mouth hot enough to be a brand on your skin.

"Oh, _Noct,_ " he murmurs against your lips.

You can’t think of anything else.

-

You feel it like a knife to your ribs when he leaves you to face the Archean alone. You _need_ him nearby, every touch of his fingers on your skin from only a few hours past like marks etched into bone.

You’re so relieved when he picks you up again in his airship, you run straight into his arms.

" _please,_ " you murmur into the crook of his neck, fitting against it like it’s the only home you’ll ever have again—"please, please—" you don’t remember how to say anything else.

Ardyn chuckles into your ear, picking you up obligingly in his arms. He’s much stronger than he seems.

-

You don’t know _why,_ but it’s like you just can’t get enough of him. You need his hands on every inch of your skin, the only thing better is his mouth, tracing slow lines over your ribs and then down across your thighs, and you have no other thoughts in your head than how much you need him never to stop.

You’ve never been so desperate for anything in your whole entire life, but that’s because you’d never met _Ardyn_ before.


	3. two

Noct crumpled to his knees. No, it couldn't be real, that was _impossible_ , he wasn't—whatever these things were. He braced his hands against the glass of a tube, trying to get back to his feet, and remembered?—stumbling out of one after all the liquid had drained, Ardyn holding him up around the waist as he slid fingers into him, then his cock, murmuring—" _Wake up, Noctis_ "—opening his eyes for the first time.

Noct screamed.

-

He was on the ground again, huddled with his hands around his knees. It _couldn't_ be real, but all the evidence was there. The rows and rows of tubes with bodies floating in them— _bodies with his face_ —weren't just for show. It was too much; he couldn't think about it for too long or he'd go _insane_. Ardyn was still talking over the loudspeakers, but Noct couldn't make sense of the words.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard footsteps approaching.

"What's wrong, Noctis?" Ardyn asked, concern thick in his voice like he hadn't just shattered Noct's whole world.

Noct shook his head, refusing to look, though he let Ardyn pull him to his feet.

"Oh, Noct," Ardyn told him, "I _do_ love you." He tugged one of Noct's arms out, perpendicular to the ground. "I've watched you grow from just a few cells into the perfect organism you are today. This curve of your arm," he traced fingers over Noct's bare skin, and it made Noct shiver with want, even now—"this scar on your wrist where you fell and injured yourself as a child—" Ardyn pressed a kiss to his skin over the supposed blemish.

"That wasn't me," Noct said dully. _He'd_ only woken up a few weeks ago, or was it a few days?—a few _hours?_ Everything was a muddle.

"They're _all_ you," Ardyn corrected him, still touching him in that proprietary way that Noct now knew had nothing to do with Ardyn _caring_ about him, or at least not in any romantic way. "The body might change, but the soul remains."

Noct snorted. "Do I even…have a soul?"

"Of _course,_ Noctis," Ardyn said, so sure it made Noct's heart skip a beat. "If you had no soul, you couldn't use the Armiger."

Right, Noct thought, the Armiger. He held out his hand, but nothing came.

"Ah, well," Ardyn said with a chuckle. "That's just a bit of fun."

Noct frowned. There was something familiar about being in this room, Ardyn stood so close to him, hands on his throat—"You've killed me before."

Ardyn hummed, like it wasn't even a concern. Perhaps it wasn't. There were _so many_ Nocts. "I have."

All the pieces were there, but he couldn't put them together.

" _Why?_ " Noct asked, plaintive and uncertain.

"Oh, Noct," Ardyn said, brushing hair tenderly out of his face. "Let me tell you a story…"

-

(Ardyn kissed him again, and this time Noct gave himself up to it.)

-

Noct woke up, feeling disoriented. Had he fallen asleep when he'd only meant to rest his eyes? He got shakily to his feet. What had he been doing? His thoughts felt slow and sticky as molasses. He was…in Gralea, looking for Prompto.

Right. He had to—find Prompto.


	4. two

"You know, Noctis, it's no simple thing, replicating an entire person. There are an endless _myriad_ of variables. For one, would it surprise you to hear your original genes didn't even have Lucis Caelum in them?" Ardyn's expression took on a faintly wistful air. "Ah, shall I start from the beginning? Ardyn Izunia isn't my _given_ name, perhaps you may guess at what it is?"

Noct shook his head. He had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that was growing with each word Ardyn spoke. He didn't want to hear it, but he felt frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.

Ardyn chuckled. "Did you never wonder why you were so attracted to me, Noctis? That's not part of your programming, though it's been a fun little bonus, hasn't it?"

He spread his hands out, as if in awe of his own cleverness.

"Haven't you ever thought you don't much resemble Regis, Noct?" Ardyn asked, drawing out the suspense. "Don't you think perhaps you look a fair bit more like… _me?_ "

It wasn't—it couldn't be true. That was— _no_ —Noct started laughing hysterically; it all seemed suddenly hilarious, an impossible fever-dream. He was going to wake up at any second, and his dad was going to be alive, and he wasn't going to be some fucked up _toy_ , manufactured just for Ardyn's entertainment, a _clone_ of—of—

Ardyn was watching him with just a touch of a smile.

He reached out a hand, trailing light fingers over Noct's face, and it felt as good as it always did, _like coming home_ , he remembered Ardyn's words on the PA system, echoing through every corner of the keep. Noct was shaking uncontrollably, he couldn't get enough air. _This wasn't real._ He stumbled backwards, still laughing. It was a horrible grating sound, ringing hollowly in his ears. There was a strange emptiness inside him, like nothing was ever going to fill it—

"Ah, well," Ardyn was saying, "I suppose it was to be expected." He reached out again, almost gentle as he pulled Noct to him, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Go to sleep, my dear."

Everything slipped blissfully away.

-

Noct woke up, groggy.

Ignis had a hand on his forehead, checking his temperature like he always did when he thought Noctis was sick or he'd overdone things. Gladio was standing at the door of small dormitory room, keeping watch. His faithful shield, even though Noct hadn't been much of a prince lately. Prompto was hovering between them, looking anxious and miles sicker than Noct felt, which wasn't much at all. His head was clearing, he'd be 100% in a few more minutes.

"I'm _fine,_ " Noct told him, batting Ignis' hand away. "Just tired. Did I fall asleep again?"

Ignis looked even more concerned. "…Again?"

"It's the ring," Noct said. "It takes a lot out of me." He lifted it up to show them that he'd finally put it on. He was ready to meet his destiny. "I just need to rest a little, and it'll be fine. We'll make better time now that we're all together again. Let's get the fuck out of here. This place is creepy as hell."

"You can say _that_ again," Gladio muttered, his hands clenched white-knuckled at his sides. It looked like the oppressive nature of Zegnautus Keep was getting to him even more than Noct.

Ignis was still frowning. "Are you sure you're feeling alright, Noct?"

"Yeah, back up and running," Noct joked, getting to his feet. No one laughed. In fact, they were all staring at him like he'd grown another head. "O-kay," Noct said. "Tough crowd today." He stretched his arms over his shoulders, working the last kinks out as he made his way to the door. " _Let's mosey._ "


End file.
